The invention is a method for treating hair thinning and loss in mammals comprising using acellular extracellular matrix mixed with autologously harvested platelet rich plasma and other additives.
Hair loss on the scalp is a problem that has affected men and some women for generations. The most common type of hair loss in men is male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia. Usually with androgenetic alopecia, hair loss happens gradually over years starting from the crown of the head and in the frontal region of the scalp. For women suffering with hair loss, there is a thinning effect that is more spread out throughout the scalp and is more common after menopause. There are 2 medical treatments for hair loss in men, topical minoxidil and oral finasteride. For women, there is only topical minoxidil.
Thinning hair and hair loss have been the scourge of mankind for many years. Although many take it as an inevitable sign of aging, there are some people who are astounded to learn that in an age of modern medical miracles, there is no realistic answer for this problem. Hair loss and thinning is quite damaging to the ego for men and women. There are numerous socio-anthropological studies which show that men who have hair loss are seen as less competent, less energetic and less productive. Consequently, there are many men and women with thinning hair who thus significantly decrease their earning potential. Lower revenue or change of career in midlife are the choices that an individual often settles for because of an external physical change.
Androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss affecting 50% of men and 20% to 53% of women by 50 years of age. This patterned form of hair loss is caused by genetic and hormonal factors and occurs in a highly predictable fashion in men and is more diffusely and less patterned in women. Hair transplantation is effective in replacing terminal hair follicles in hair loss areas. While this procedure is generally effective, the challenge for patients with severe hair loss is depletion of donor follicles before the area of hair loss is fully covered. Scar formation at the donor site can also occur. Therefore, the ability to remove hair from one area and transplant into another, while allowing the donor hair to grow back would be highly useful, as would the ability to reduce the incidence of donor scars, which are typically refractory to surgical excision. While researchers continue to make progress in this area, no treatment to date has emerged to eliminate donor scars completely or regenerate hair follicles in both the donor site or on the bald scalp.